Delberts Wallet Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 I was out driving my car today and suddenly noticed water on the windscreen and then noticed that the water temp was in the red! I took the nose off and then unscrews the cap (carefully) and coolant came pooring out. Hours later when I had got the car home and it had cooled down the coolant level was really low. I topped it up and started the car and let it warm up. Again after the engine was hot (80 deg) I removed the cap and again coolant came pooring out. I'm now worried that the head gasket has gone. Is there any way of telling for sure or is the above a complete give away. The coolant is new so can't tell if there is any sort of contamination. Answers on a post card Cheers Gareth Who Dares Twins bum.gif bum.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 gareth if you keep taking the cap of when the engine colant is very hot and there is still a build up of presure you will always get the water coming out. remove and replace thermostat fill and bleed. then stop taking the cap of when engine is hot. you may find all is ok fredid=blue> eek.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby dooby doo Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 if you take the cap off when its hot coolant *will* pour out. its a pressurised system and is meant to do that. since a load of coolant has poured out the level will then be low. if the head gasket had really gone (doesn't sound like it had) you be able to see green down one side of the engine and in really bad cases a mayonnaise like substance in the coolant where oil has mixed with the coolant. The easy sign of head gasket failure is that the coolant system can't maintain pressure so instead of stabilising at 70-80 the temperature will keep rising and rising as you drive. so now i think we have to work out why the temp got into the red in the first place and where the water came from. You should be running with pure coolant (the green propolyene glycol stuff) was the stuff on the window coolant (feels different to water, tastes very sweet, is green) or water? Another thing to check is the header tank cap. They do fail occaisionally and this stops pressure being maintained as desinged. Dave Hooper - dmch2@lineone.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 Gareth. I've been caught out by the "How come the screen is getting wet when it's a blue sky" scenario. It was just as you describe; water through the vents. Mine was just a loose cap, but I have known other 'K' owners who have had this item fail. Just fit a new item (or tighten the existing one?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 I think Caterham fit reject caps. Get a new one. Peterid=teal> 253 BHP K-seriesteeth.gif, no gearboxbum.gifid=red> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberts Wallet Posted June 26, 2002 Author Share Posted June 26, 2002 Thanks for the advice. The stuff on the screen was coolant. Ran the car up again this time I checked the hoses for temps. I found that the bottom hose from the rad to the pump was still cold even with the temp up to 90-100deg. Does this mean that the thermostat is not opening, if not could this be the cause of the original over heat problem? Who Dares Twins bum.gif bum.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 Edited by - fred on 26 Jun 2002 11:30:42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 GARETH do what i sujested in my first reply fredid=blue> eek.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 gareth when you replace the thermostate remove the hole housing in a unit this makes the job very easy the hose is a bugger to get on if you try to do it in place fredid=blue> eek.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger King Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 As others have suggested, it is worth checking the filler cap and the thermostat. If it is one of these that has the problem, you may have got away with it. Head gasket failure can be checked for with a chemical test of the gases in the header tank. This is much simpler than it sounds, but you will probably have to go to a specialist to get this done. It is often called a 'block test' and is simply a matter of sucking some of the air in the header tank through a chemical indicator (while at operating temperature) - if it changes colour then products of combustion are in the coolant which usually indicates a failed head gasket. If this test comes up clear you will have got away with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Plant Posted June 28, 2002 Share Posted June 28, 2002 Sounds like an airlock in the cooling system similar to the one I have been struggling with for the last few days (fixed now I hope). Air seems to collect around the bend in the bottom hose near to the thermostat. This will stop the 'stat opening. There is loads of good advice in the archives about how to bleed your cooling system. Just refilling it via the header tank will never work. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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